The Siege of Mafeking: The Second Boer War - WorldAtlas.com Society The Siege of Mafeking: The Second Boer War This battle made many British and local citizens into "heroes" to their allies in their conflict with the Boer settlers. Boer soldiers fighting from the trenches during the battle in Mafeking. 5. Background The Siege of Mafeking was an engagement of the Second Boer War fought around the town of Mafeking, close to the border between then British South Africa and the then Boer Republic of Transvaal. The siege started on October 13, 1899, and lasted until May 17, 1900, when the town was relieved by British reinforcements. The objective of the Boers’ assault was to capture the important border town of Mafeking, which was a major railway hub between the cities of Kimberley and Bulawayo. By doing so, they hoped to upset prospective British attacks into the Transvaal Republic, while at the same time better positioning themselves to threaten the British Cape Colony itself. 4.

Makeup Commanding the British forces was Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, whose forces were made up of 500 men from the Protectorate Regiment, 300 men from the Bechuanaland Rifles and Cape Police, and 300 of Mafeking's citizens who could bear arms. Unusual for the time, he also armed 300 African men and organized them into a 'Black Watch'. Boys aged between 12 and 15 served as messengers and orderlies in the Cadet Corps to help release additional men to fight, which brought the total force of the garrison close to 2,000 men. The besiegers were led by General Piet Cronje, and counted more than 8,000 men organized in the traditional Boer commando fashion, with men from the same town grouped into a single unit. Both sides were armed with the most modern bolt-action rifles, like the 1898 Mauser for the Boers and the Lee-Enfield on the British side. The British made the most out of their technological superiority by deploying several Maxim machine guns through their trenches that inflicted considerable casualties on the Boer attackers.

Both sides employed heavy artillery to shell the opponents' lines, and the British resourcefulness led them to adapt a railroad car as an armored personal carrier with which they successfully attacked the Boer camp. 3. Description The mostly flat terrain around Mafeking offered the defenders a clear line of fire and lacked the higher ground nearby that would have boosted a Boer attack. General Powel chose to fortify the town by building several lines of trenches and setting up forts at regular intervals. With such a heavy concentration of defenses, General Piet Cronje decided to starve out the town instead of taking it by assault. Engagements through the siege were mostly limited to the occasional sniper killing a careless sentry, or an artillery bombardment intended to break the morale of the enemy. 2. Outcome With the British relief force, commanded by Colonel Bryan Mahon, amassing in Kimberley, the Boers decided to launch an all-out attack on May 12th that was beaten back after heavy fighting. Five days later Mahon arrived at Mafeking and lifted the siege. The British lost 212 dead, and over 600 wounded. The Boers paid a heavier price with more than 2,000 men killed, wounded, or missing.

1. Significance The siege of Mafeking was celebrated through the whole British Empire and the news of its relief brought hopes that the war could end soon. To the British, Mafeking demonstrated the power of the Empire even in the most remote corners of Africa, and its staunch resistance became a symbol of British courage and determination through the war and beyond. With Mafeking secured, and the Boer army besieging it scattered, the door was opened for the British invasion of the Transvaal that would result in the defeat and annexation of the Boer Republic into the British Empire. Though the war would last for two more years, Mafeking's resistance deprived the Boers from gaining a footstep from where to threaten Cape Colony, and so hastened the Boer defeat. The relief would be celebrated for years to come, both throughout the colony and back in Mother England. Baden-Powell would be treated as a hero much of the rest of his life, and go on to start the international “Scout” movement. Numerous other officers were bestowed with high honors by the British Empire as well for their service. The Mafeking Obelisk was erected a few years later to honor those who fought and died defending the town.

This page was last modified on January 28, 2016. On WorldAtlas.com Siege of Mafeking | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Shortly before the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, Lord Wolseley , Commander-in-Chief of the British Army , who had failed to persuade the British government to send troops to the region, instead sent Colonel (later Lord) Baden-Powell , accompanied by a handful of officers, to the Cape Colony to raise two Regiments of Mounted Rifles from Rhodesia. Their aims were to resist the expected Boer invasion of the Natal Colony (now KwaZulu-Natal Province ), draw the Boers away from the coasts to facilitate the landing of British troops, and, through a demonstrable British presence, deter the local people from siding with the Boers. Like the British government, the local politicians feared that increased military activity might provoke a Boer attack, so Baden-Powell decided to obtain many of his own stores, organise his own transport and recruit in secret.

With barely trained forces and aware of the Boers' greatly superior numbers, commando tactics and the failure of the earlier Jameson Raid , Baden-Powell decided that the best way to tie down Boer troops would be through defence rather than attack. Consequently he chose to hold the town of Mafeking due to its location - both near the border and on the railway between Bulawayo and Kimberley - and because of its status as a local administrative centre. As well, the town had good stocks of food and other necessities. Mafeking Cadets during the siege The Mafeking forces comprised the Protectorate Regiment of around 500 men, around 300 from the Bechuanaland Rifles and the Cape Police, and a further 300 men from the town. A cadet corps of boys aged 12 to 15, later to be one of the inspirations for the Scouting Movement, [1] was also formed to act as messengers and orderlies. The recruitment of these cadets released men to fight, bringing the total engaged in the military effort to around 2000.

Even though it was supposed to be a "white man's war" Baden-Powell also armed 300 African natives with rifles. They were nicknamed the "Black Watch" and used to guard the perimeter. [2] :424–425 Siege Siege of Mafeking, South African War Memorial (Halifax) , Province House (Nova Scotia) , Canada by Hamilton MacCarthy Work to build defences around the 6-mile (10 km) perimeter of Mafeking started on 19 September 1899; the town would eventually be equipped with an extensive network of trenches and gun emplacements. President Kruger of the independent Boer South African Republic declared war on 12 October 1899. Under the orders of General Cronje the Mafeking railway and telegraph lines were cut the same day, and the town began to be besieged from 13 October. Mafeking was first shelled on 16 October after Baden-Powell ignored Cronje's 9 o'clock deadline to surrender.

Although outnumbered by over 8,000 Boer troops, the garrison withstood the siege for 217 days, defying the predictions of the politicians on both sides. Much of this was attributable to some of the cunning military deceptions instituted by Baden-Powell. Fake landmines were laid around the town in view of the Boers and their spies within the town, and his soldiers were ordered to simulate avoiding barbed wire (non-existent) when moving between trenches; guns and a searchlight (improvised from an acetylene lamp and biscuit tin ) were moved around the town to increase their apparent number. (See Jon Latimer, Deception in War, London: John Murray, 2001, pp. 32–5.) A howitzer was built in Mafeking's railway workshops, and even an old cannon (dated 1770, it coincidentally had "B.P. & Co." engraved on the barrel) [2] :424 was pressed into service.

Noticing the Boers had failed to remove any of the rails, Baden-Powell had an armoured train from the Mafeking railyard loaded with sharpshooters and sent up the rail line in a daring attack right into the heart of the Boer camp, followed by a safe return to Mafeking. Often soldiers were asked to dress as women undertaking normal activities such as fetching water and sewing to disillusion the enemy. The Boer 'Long Tom' in action during the siege The morale of the civilian population was also given attention, and Sunday ceasefires were negotiated so that sports, competitions and theatrical performances could be held. Notable were the cricket matches held on a Sunday. Initially, the religious sensibilities of General J. P. Snyman (in command after Cronje departed) were offended, and he threatened to fire upon the players if they continued. Eventually Snyman relented and even invited the British to a game. Baden-Powell replied that first he had to finish the present match, in which the score was '200 days, not out'! [3] As in the case of the nearby Siege of Kimberley , the Boers decided that the town was too heavily defended to take.

On 19 November, 4,000 Boers were redeployed elsewhere, although the siege remained and shelling of Mafeking continued. Aware of the approaching British relief columns, the Boers launched a final major attack early in the morning of 12 May that succeeded in breaching the perimeter defences and setting fire to some of the town, but were finally beaten back. Boer attack Edit On 12 May, at about 4 am, Field Cornet S. Eloff led a force of 240 Boers in a daring assault on Mafeking. Covered by a feint attack on the east side of the town, the attackers slipped between the Hidden Hollow and Limestone forts on the western face of the defences. Guided by a British deserter, they followed a path beside the Molopo River to where it enters the Stadt, the village where the native Africans lived. Eloff's party burst into the Stadt unopposed and set fire to the huts in order to signal the attack's progress to Snyman.

By about 5:30 am, the Boers seized the police barracks on the outskirts of Mafeking, killing one and capturing the garrison's second-in-command, Colonel C. O. Hore and 29 others. Eloff picked up the telephone connected with British headquarters and boasted to Baden-Powell of his success. [2] :434 The fire had, however, already alerted Mafeking's garrison, which responded rapidly to the crisis. The African police (of the Baralong tribe) had wisely stayed out of the way when Eloff's party roared through the Stadt. As soon as the Boers moved on, the 109 armed Baralongs cut off Eloff's escape route. [2] :436 Snyman, "the most stolid and supine of all the Boer generals in the war," failed to support Eloff. [2] :434 Meanwhile, Baden-Powell's elaborate telephone network provided him with timely and accurate information. From his headquarters, the British commander directed Major Alick Godley and B Squadron (Protectorate Regiment) to smother the attack and dispatched D Squadron, some armed railway employees and others to help.

Eloff's men were soon isolated into three groups. [2] :435–436 With two squadrons, Godley first surrounded a group of Boers holed up in a stone kraal in the Stadt. These men surrendered after a sharp fusillade. Godley drove the second group off a kopje and they mostly managed to escape. All day long, Eloff and the third group held out in the police barracks, finally capitulating in the night. The British lost 12 dead and 8 wounded, mostly Africans. Boer losses were 60 dead and wounded, plus a further 108 captured. [2] :437–438 Relief Edit The siege was finally lifted on 17 May 1900, when British forces commanded by Colonel B T Mahon of the army of Lord Roberts relieved the town after fighting their way in. Among the relief forces was one of Baden-Powell's brothers, Major Baden Fletcher Smyth Baden-Powell . "Baden-Powell is a wonderfully able scout and quick at sketches. I do not know another who could have done the work at Mafeking if the same conditions had been imposed.

All the bits of knowledge he studiously gathered have been utilized in saving that community." — Siege of Mafeking Abandoned by the Boers, Frederick Russell Burnham , the American scout, interviewed by The Times, 19 May 1900. Until reinforcements landed in February 1900, the war was going poorly for the British. The resistance to the siege was one of the positive highlights, and it and the eventual relief of the town excited the liveliest sympathy in Britain. There were immense celebrations in the country at the news of its relief (creating the verb to maffick, meaning to celebrate both extravagantly and publicly). "Maffick" was a back-formation from Mafeking, a place-name that was treated humorously as a gerund or participle . Promoted to the youngest major-general in the army, and awarded the CB , Baden-Powell was also treated as a hero when he finally returned to Britain in 1903.

Three Victoria Crosses were awarded as a result of acts of heroism during the siege, to Sergeant Horace Martineau and Trooper Horace Ramsden for acts during an attack on the Boer Game Tree Fort, and to Captain Charles FitzClarence for Game Tree and two previous actions. In September 1904 Lord Roberts unveiled an obelisk at Mafeking bearing the names of those who fell in defence of the town. Mafeking Obelisk The Mafeking Siege Cancel The Mafeking Siege Cancel Frederick Lawrence, Ph.D. The investment of the siege of Mafeking began in mid-October, 1899 at the beginning of the Second Anglo-Boer War. The British military authority, by the order of Colonel R.S.S. Baden-Powell, commander of the Frontier Forces, took over control of the civil Post Office operation in Mafeking. Baden-Powell's plan for the defense of the town called for the positioning of armed defenders - regular British soldiers, British South Africa Police (black Africans), and local townsmen - at fortified defensive positions, or forts, that ringed the town.

To keep the morale of the defenders high during the potentially long run of the siege, Baden-Powell believed that their ability to stay in regular contact with friends and loved ones in town was of tantamount importance, and that the only way to insure uninterrupted movement of the mails was to place Post Office operations in the hands of the military. The military authority bought up the entire stock of postage stamps in the Mafeking Post Office and then had the stamps overprinted "Mafeking Besieged" and surcharged for the special rates of the siege mail by the local printer, Messrs. Townshend & Sons. When the supply of overprinted/surcharged stamps was exhausted in early 1900, the famous photographic or "blueprint" stamps , bearing the portraits of Cadet Sgt. Major Warner Goodyear of the Cadet Bicycle Post and Colonel Baden-Powell, were produced.

At the time of the siege, there were three active canceling devices in Mafeking; "MAFEKING C.G.H." squared circle date stamp (Goldblatt SC 6), which had been in use since November 1895, when British Bechuanaland, in which Mafeking was then located, was annexed by the Cape of Good Hope. Mafeking Siege Cancel "MAFEKING C.G.H." 25mm single circle date stamp (Goldblatt CDS 25), which would become known as the "Mafeking siege" cancel. Single circle "squared dot" 21mm date stamp (Goldblatt CDS 16, Holmes Type 2), which was also extensively used as the date stamp on telegrams received in Mafeking. This cancel became known as the "Mafeking telegraph" cancel. Two other cancels were known for Mafeking. The barred oval numeral cancel (BONC) no. 638, which was used from the opening of the Post Office in Mafeking in 1885 until annexation in 1895 may still have been present in an inactive status.

A second BONC, no. 1045, which had been produced as a standby canceler for British Bechuanaland but was never postally used, was also present. For reasons that were never recorded by either the military authorities or the civil Postmaster in Mafeking, Mr. J.V. Howat, who continued to function in his position during the siege, the 25mm "Mafeking Siege" was used to cancel all siege mail. Mafeking Siege Mail According to van der Walt (1986), this cancel was introduced in Mafeking sometime after the annexation, but it is not known exactly when. The earliest reported usage of this cancel is April 15, 1897. Compared to the frequently used squared circle date stamp, the "Mafeking siege" cancel has been infrequently reported out of Mafeking, particularly after the relief of the siege. The latest reported use is January 27, 1906 as a receiver on a Christmas post card sent by Baden-Powell from Battersea, S.W, UK to Major Francis William Panzera, stationed in Francistown.

SOSSI JOURNAL , Volume 43, Number 10, December 1994. Created by Keith Larson, 2000. The Siege of Mafeking - The Boer War The Boer War War: The Boer War Date: 14th October 1899 to 16th May 1900. Place: Mafeking lies on the railway north to Rhodesia in the Northern tip of Cape Colony in South Africa near to the Bechuanaland border. Combatants: British against the Boers. Generals: Colonel Robert Baden-Powell against General Cronje and from November 1899 General Snyman. Size of the armies: 1,500 British colonial troops against initially7,500 Boers reduced in November 1899 to 1,500. Uniforms, arms and equipment: The Boer War was a serious jolt for the British Army. At the outbreak of the war British tactics were appropriate for the use of single shot firearms, fired in volleys controlled by company and battalion officers; the troops fighting in close order.

The need for tight formations had been emphasised time and again in colonial fighting. In the Zulu and Sudan Wars overwhelming enemy numbers armed principally with stabbing weapons were easily kept at a distance by such tactics; but, as at Isandlwana, would overrun a loosely formed force. These tactics had to be entirely rethought in battle against the Boers armed with modern weapons. In the months before hostilities the Boer commandant general, General Joubert, bought 30,000 Mauser magazine rifles and a number of modern field guns and automatic weapons from the German armaments manufacturer Krupp and the French firm Creusot. The commandoes, without formal discipline, welded into a fighting force through a strong sense of community and dislike for the British. Field Cornets led burghers by personal influence not through any military code. The Boers did not adopt military formation in battle, instinctively fighting from whatever cover there might be. The preponderance were countrymen, running their farms from the back of a pony with a rifle in one hand. These rural Boers brought a life time of marksmanship to the war, an important edge, further exploited by Joubert’s consignment of magazine rifles.

Viljoen is said to have coined the aphorism “Through God and the Mauser”. With strong fieldcraft skills and high mobility the Boers were natural mounted infantry. The urban burghers and foreign volunteers readily adopted the fighting methods of the rest of the army. Other than in the regular uniformed Staats Artillery and police units, the Boers wore their every day civilian clothes on campaign. After the first month the Boers lost their numerical superiority, spending the rest of the formal war on the defensive against British forces that regularly outnumbered them. British tactics, little changed from the Crimea, used at Modder River, Magersfontein, Colenso and Spion Kop were incapable of winning battles against entrenched troops armed with modern magazine rifles. Every British commander made the same mistake; Buller; Methuen, Roberts and Kitchener. When General Kelly-Kenny attempted to winkle Cronje’s commandoes out of their riverside entrenchments at Paardeburg using his artillery, Kitchener intervened and insisted on a battle of infantry assaults; with the same disastrous consequences as Colenso, Modder River, Magersfontein and Spion Kop.

Some of the most successful British troops were the non-regular regiments; the City Imperial Volunteers, the South Africans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders, who more easily broke from the habit of traditional European warfare, using their horses for transport rather than the charge, advancing by fire and manouevre in loose formations and making use of cover, rather than the formal advance into a storm of Mauser bullets. Uniform: The British regiments made an uncertain change into khaki uniforms in the years preceding the Boer War, with the topee helmet as tropical headgear. Highland regiments in Natal devised aprons to conceal coloured kilts and sporrans. By the end of the war the uniform of choice was a slouch hat, drab tunic and trousers; the danger of shiny buttons and too ostentatious emblems of rank emphasised in several engagements with disproportionately high officer casualties. The British infantry were armed with the Lee Metford magazine rifle firing 10 rounds. But no training regime had been established to take advantage of the accuracy and speed of fire of the weapon. Personal skills such as scouting and field craft were little taught. The idea of fire and movement was unknown, many regiments still going into action in close order.

Notoriously General Hart insisted that his Irish Brigade fight shoulder to shoulder as if on parade in Aldershot. Short of regular troops, Britain engaged volunteer forces from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand who brought new ideas and more imaginative formations to the battlefield. The British regular troops lacked imagination and resource. Routine procedures such as effective scouting and camp protection were often neglected. The war was littered with incidents in which British contingents became lost or were ambushed often unnecessarily and forced to surrender. The war was followed by a complete re-organisation of the British Army. The British artillery was a powerful force in the field, underused by commanders with little training in the use of modern guns in battle. Pakenham cites Pieters as being the battle at which a British commander, surprisingly Buller, developed a modern form of battlefield tactics: heavy artillery bombardments co-ordinated to permit the infantry to advance under their protection. It was the only occasion that Buller showed any real generalship and the short inspiration quickly died. The Royal Field Artillery fought with 15 pounder guns; the Royal Horse Artillery with 12 pounders and the Royal Garrison Artillery batteries with 5 inch howitzers.

The Royal Navy provided heavy field artillery with a number of 4.7 inch naval guns mounted on field carriages devised by Captain Percy Scott of HMS Terrible. Automatic weapons were used by the British usually mounted on special carriages accompanying the cavalry. Winner: The British held out until relieved. British Regiments: Bechuanaland Protectorate Regiment (mounted rifles) British South Africa Police Local Volunteers. Account: It was planned by the British that on the outbreak of war with the Boers Colonel Robert Baden-Powell with two regiments of mounted colonial irregulars would invade the north western tip of the Transvaal from the Bechuanaland/Cape Colony border thereby drawing significant Boer forces away from the invasion of Natal. Baden-Powell raised his two regiments, one from Rhodesia, the other from Bechuanaland, but Milner the High Commissioner in Cape Town changed the scheme, requiring Baden-Powell to garrison Mafeking and resist any attempt by the Boers to capture it. Unlike Ladysmith and Kimberley, the two disastrous accidental sieges, Mafeking succumbed deliberately.

Baden-Powell sent Colonel Plumer with the Rhodesian regiment to a nearby town, Tuli, while he established his Bechuanaland Regiment in Mafeking with a handful of British officers. The second in command was Major Lord Edward Cecil, son of the British :Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury. Milner’s plan was successful in that while General Joubert attacked the outnumbered British regular troops in Natal, General Cronje marched north west to Mafeking with 7,500 burghers, a reinforcement that might have been sufficient to drive the British out of Natal before, General Buller could arrive with the relieving Army Corps. In November 1899 Cronje marched south leaving the siege of Mafeking to General Snyman and 1,500 Boers. Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, commandant of the Mafeking garrison Baden-Powell conducted the defence of the town with great energy and resource, leading the Boers to believe there was a larger garrison than was the case. In November 1899 Baden-Powell launched a series of raids on the Boers lines that caused him some casualties but made the Boers wary of the garrison.

Initially the Mafeking garrison had no artillery. Baden-Powell improvised various items to look like real guns and trains, while engineers manufactured a gun, known as the “Wolf”, from a length of steel pipe. The Boers used the 2 two inch guns they had captured from Dr Jamieson to bombard the town. Dud shells fired from these guns were reworked and discharged at the Boer lines from the Wolf. An officer found an old muzzle loading naval gun serving as a gate post. This gun was christened “Lord Nelson” and drafted into service. Dynamite grenades were manufactured and thrown at the Boer lines and a small railway line was built across the town. In sharp contrast to the indolent Ladysmith garrison, Baden-Powell kept his men constantly on the move, raiding the Boer lines and keeping the besiegers on their toes. On 26th December 1899 Baden-Powell launched an attack on Game Tree Fort, a Boer strongpoint to the North of Mafeking. Unknown to the garrison the fort had been significantly strengthened and the attack was an expensive failure.

Among the personalities in besieged Mafeking was Lady Sarah Wilson, aunt of Winston Churchill, in South Africa with her army officer husband. Lady Sarah is said to have been conducting spying activities against the Boers until arrested by General Snyman and exchanged for General Viljoen, held prisoner by Baden-Powell. For the rest of the siege Lady Sarah’s bunker was the social focus of the besieged town and she herself an active member of the garrison. From January 1900 food stocks in Mafeking fell low. Baden-Powell remedied this difficulty by withholding rations from the sizeable Baralong town in the south west corner of Mafeking. On 31st March 1900 Plumer attempted to fight his way into Mafeking with the Rhodesian regiment but was repelled with heavy losses. On Saturday 12th May 1900 Field Cornet Sarel Eloff launched the most significant assault on Mafeking in an attempt to capture the town before it could be relieved by the advancing British force under Colonel Mahon. Few of the Boer burghers were prepared to take part in such a foolhardy expedition.

The operation began with a feint assault on the eastern defences of the town by General Snyman. Eloff then attacked through the Baralong town and captured the police barracks in the centre of Mafeking. Eloff’s men set fire to the Baralong huts as they passed through giving the Mafeking garrison an instant alarm. The Boer plan was that General Snyman would launch a further attack on the town’s defences, thereby subjecting the garrison to assaults in front and rear, but this did not materialise. Throughout the rest of the day fighting raged around the barracks until Eloff was forced to surrender and the attack collapsed. Eloff was enabled to carry out his boast to his fellow Boers that he would breakfast at Dixon’s Hotel the morning after the attack; but he did so as a prisoner. The following Wednesday, 16th May 1900, Colonel Mahon’s flying column of Imperial Light Horse and Royal Horse Artillery rode into Mafeking after an epic ride, and the siege ended. Follow-up: The relief of Mafeking caused ecstatic joy in Britain, out of all proportion to its significance. For a time the word “mafeking” meant to celebrate excessively.

Regimental anecdotes and traditions: Baden-Powell went on to establish the world wide Boy Scout Movement, based on the youth corps he set up in Mafeking during the siege. References: The Boer War is widely covered. A cross section of interesting volumes would be: The Great Boer War by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Goodbye Dolly Gray by Rayne Kruger The Boer War by Thomas Pakenham sSouth Africa and the Transvaal War by Louis Creswicke (6 highly partisan volumes) Designed and maintained by Chalfont Web Design © Britishbattles.com 2002 - 2016; Battlefield: The Siege of Mafeking - Northwest General > Mountain Passes and Historic Memorials of SA Battlefield: The Siege of Mafeking - Northwest (1/1) malgat (RIP): Siege of Mafeking: Introduction The historic town of Mafeking is today the centre of a thriving Molopo district and was once the lush and scenic home of vast herds of game; one writer reported seeing a single herd of 1500 wildebeest and zebra.

The Barolong tribe lived in the area and called it Mafeking which means ï¿½The Places of stoneï¿½ ï¿½ as it was set against great rock outcrops. Early 1860 the Transvaal Republic was expanding westwards and this caused conflict with the Barolong tribe. From Botswana (Bechuanaland) side was the Goshen tribe ruled by Guy von Pittius and after some near wars the British sent Sir Hercules Robinson and Rev John Mackenzie to restore peace and order. Things came to a head in July 1884 when 300 Goshenites attacked the Barolong and raided over 3000 head of cattle. The Barolong attempted to recover the cattle and subsequently lost 180 men (including 2 white men) and the Goshenites 50 men just 6 kms outside Mafeking. So the British replaced Rev Mackenzie with Cecil John Rhodes who spent 2 days at Rooigrond between the Goshenites, Barolong and Boers and discussed peace terms. After Rhodes left the Barolong signed a very unfavourable treaty between the Boers and Goshenites.

This was Sept 1884 just after the Barolong were taken under British protection. But then President Kruger proclaimed placing the Barolong under Transvaalï¿½s control. Ten days later Pres Kruger withdrew his proclamation but the Goshenites continued with their plans to divide the Barolong country amongst them selves. So, Sir Charles Warren now came back to restore order in the territory, to reinstate the chiefs in their lands again and to hold the country until further notice when its destiny was decided. But now the Goshenites retired to Transvaal. On March 23 a proclamation was issued providing for civil and criminal jurisdiction over the whole territory. Two forts were constructed by Warren on the north and south side, viz Cannon Kopje and Warrens Fort and permission was given by the British to establish the town of Mafeking and life went on. In 1894 Mafeking suffered an outbreak of smallpox and the costs for fighting it was paid for by special property tax imposition. Also the railway line from Cape Town reached Mafeking.

Then Rinderpest hit the country with devastating effect in 1896.the resulting livestock carnage pushed prices sky high and a humble donkey sold for 10 pound while a mule fetched 50 pound But, during the year New Year weekend of 1895/96 the fiasco of the Jameson Raid took place. 350 police and volunteers under Dr Jameson crossed the Transvaal border and at Ottoshoop another 120 joined them. The plan was to sneak through to Johannesburg and transport guns and ammo to the British workers working in the goldmines of Johannesburg and start a rebellion. Rhodes wanted to take over Johannesburg for its gold and his lifetime friend Leander Starr Jameson was eager to assist. However permission wasnï¿½t yet granted by either Britain or Rhodes but the rebellious Jameson went ahead and raced across the country also forgetting to cut the telegraph lines. Anyway the Boers knew about his intentions all along the way and at Randfontein near Krugersdorp forced him to surrender. (More of the Jameson raid in my next thread) Anyway needless to say Pres Kruger was upset with the British and some other instances cropped up.

On Oct 11 1899 war was declared by Transvaal and the opening shots were fired by General de la Reyï¿½s forces on an armoured train at Kraaipan south of Mafeking. The train was carrying guns and armaments destined for Mafeking which was captured by the Boers. This then started what was called the siege of Mafeking on October 14 1899. There was a population of 1 500 whites of whom 630 were women and children. There were also smaller groups of Chinese, Indian and Coloured community plus about 5000 of Barolong. The town itself occupied about 1 000 square yards lay around the Market Square with the municipal offices in the centre. The station and railway workshops lay on the north west corner, and to the north was the Victoria Hospital and the Convent which occupied the Irish Sisters of Mercy. The houses in the town were mostly red mud brick covered with corrugated iron sheeting.

There were two schools and churches of different denominations and even a branch of Standard Bank, a Masonic Lodge and the local newspaper ï¿½the Mafeking Mail and Protectorate Guardianï¿½ which was produced daily throughout the siege ï¿½shells permittingï¿½ Colonel Baden Powell had not originally intended occupying Mafeking but in Sept 1899 he moved his regiment of 1231 soldiers into town. Furthermore contingents of Africans, for example a Barolong contingent of 500 men were formed. Each unit was assigned a different section of the defence perimeter of Mafeking, with Warrens Fort and Cannon Kopje being salient points in the defence scheme. Colonel Baden Powell and his staff occupied the Dixon Hotel with an adjacent lawyerï¿½s office as headquarters. The Mafeking defenders were reasonably well equipped with rifles (Lee Metfords and the older Martini Henry single loaders but were very short of artillery having only 4 antiquated seven-pounders, one one-pounder Hotchkiss and one 2-inch Nordemfeldt and seven Maxim guns. With regard to food supplies Mafeking was well prepared to withstand the siege.

Goods that were destined to enter Rhodesia in 1899 by rail on their way northbound from Cape Town were left in transit at Mafeking. A number of other forts were built and were interconnected by telephone and BPï¿½s headquarters To be continuedï¿½ï¿½. What and how many besiegers were there??? How long did it last??? Was there any other happenings aside from sniping and bombing???? What plans were devised when the food ran out???? How many shells were fired???? How did it stop??? All this in the next and last episode. Pistonpete: malgat (RIP): The siege of Mafeking: Conclusion The besiegers numbered between 6000 and 8 000 men under the command of Kommadants Snyman and Cronje. Snyman's headquarters were at McMullin's farm, 4 kms east from Mafeking. The Transvalers brought in a 94 pounder Creusot gun, one of four purchased from France, which fired a total of 1 497 rounds into the town. Altogether 20 000 shells of various weights were fired into the town.

The defenders had an armoured train for which a spur line was constructed on the north side of the town to strengthen its defences. The first battle took place on October 14 on the north side of the town towards Signal Hill where the Transvalers had a laager on the site of the present Mmabatho Sun Hotel stands. On October 27, Captain FitzClarence led a night attack on a Transvaal trench just beyond the present golf course. Transvaal losses were high and in reprisal a determined attack was made on Cannon Kopje on October 31 when 800 Transvalers attacked the fort but were repulsed. The siege then settled down to a fairly hum-drum, day to day, routine. The town was shelled daily except on Sundays and sniping continued with sporadic engagements occurring from time to time. Sundays were mutually agreed upon as a day of rest. The Transvalers had their church services and the townsfolk came out of their dugouts and resumed, for one day in the week, a fairly normal life and tried to complete the weekï¿½s domestic chores. The Anglican Church continued with regular services throughout the siege.

One of Baden Powellï¿½s biggest responsibilities was to keep up the morale of the townsfolk and garrison and organised baby shows, polo matches, concerts and others. On one Sunday 7 rounds from the maxim were fired and the generals quickly corresponded with each other to find out one of the soldiers was showing his girlfriend the gun when it went off by mistake. Needless to say he was punished. BP also started the Cadet Corps where the youngsters were used to convey messages to the points when the telephones were down. They were later issued with bicycles and many stories are there of brave youngsters ducking the bombs while cycling between posts. It was here that the idea of the Boy Scouts was seated in BP mind. Lady Sarah Wilson, the daughter of the Duke of Marlborough who was sent somewhere else when the siege commenced and whose husband was an officer of Baden Powell staff, surrendered herself to the Transvalers at McMullin's farm with the request that she be allowed to enter the town.

She was exchanged for a captured Transvaal burger at the beginning of December and spent the rest of the siege in Mafeking But on Boxing Day the garrison attack the Boers, Game Tree Fort, which just stood south of the present parliament building in Mmabatho. The British had to withdraw with a loss of 26 killed and 21 wounded. Rationing was introduced on January 19, 1900, when it became obvious that the siege was going to last longer than expected. The daily ration of bread and meal fluctuated between half to one pound per person per day and the sale of matches and milk was prohibited. Rations were later reduced even more and the population was forced to eat horse meat 2 or 3 times a week. A locally made biscuit which contained a high percentage of husks was also baked and the population even took to frying locust ï¿½ with the verdict that they were ï¿½not bad, the entire aroma and the subtlety of chewing stringï¿½. Towards the end of March whiskey was fetching a sovereign a bottle and brandy 7 and a half shilling a bottle.

The shortage of the artillery was alleviated when the Railway Workshop constructed a gun nicknamed ï¿½The Wolfï¿½. It threw a shell weighing seven and a half kilogram, a distance of two and half kilometres with great effect. A 1792 vintage ships cannon, found by the military being used as a garden ornament on Rowlandï¿½s farm, was reconditioned in the Railway Workshop. Cannon balls were cast for it and it was brought into service. In April, Kommadant Sarel Eloff, the grandson of President Paul Kruger was sent to Mafeking from Pretoria with reinforcements which included a French contingent. Eloff commanded the Koikoi Laager outside Mafeking and on the 200th day of the siege wrote a letter to BP saying that he had seen in the ï¿½Bulawayo Chronicleï¿½ that the Mafeking defenders were playing cricket on Sundays. As life was monotonous, he proposed that he and his men should play the the Mafeking Defenders at cricket and join them in dance i.e. if BP wouldnï¿½t mind.

BP sent a reply stating the score was to date 200 not out and that the three bowlers ï¿½ Snyman, Cronje and Botha had tried , without success, to get the Mafeking out and it was high time that the Transvaal put on other bowlers. Snyman, who read the letter, we are told, was not impressed On May 12, Eloff breached the western defences, came into the stad up the Molopo River, and succeeded in taking Warrenï¿½s Fort with 300 men. He in turn again was then besieged in the fort and had to surrender on the evening of the same day. The relief column, under Plummer from the north and Mahon from the south entered Mafeking on May 17 and the siege was ended. The war still continued for another 2 years. A refugee camp was established in 1901 and a large cemetery to the south west of the town marks the spot where all the Transvaal non-combatants who died in the western Transvaal were laid to rest.

Gina: Siege of Mafeking, Colonel Baden-Powell Defender of Mafeking Boy Scouts Siege of Mafeking, Colonel Baden-Powell Defender of Mafeking Details:

Question: In the siege of Mafeking who led the defenders?
Answer: Robert Baden Powell